Hiroshi Naru
Hiroshi Naru is the Fourth Seat in the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13. Appearance Hiroshi is a relatively handsome young man, his inexplicably grey hair setting him apart from those who look of the same age. With brown eyes and an easy smile, Hiroshi has managed to gain the attention of several of his female colleagues, but he seems oblivious to this fact. His hair is kept in an odd style, the fringe going down to his nose with the back and sides of the hair seeming to hover just above his shoulders. He has three parallel scars on his left cheek from a training accident during his time at the academy, but he decided to keep them as a reminder of the arrogance which gained him the scars, as well as the fact that he thinks they add a roguish air to his character. He is almost always wearing the general Shinigami robes, proud to be able to wear them and only ever seen out of them at very informal meetings, off-time and when he goes to sleep. In these times, he can generally be seen wearing a variety of different outfits, although his current favourite is a non-descript black t-shirt with a red circular collar, baggy trousers and some black sneakers. Personality Hiroshi is relatively young for a shinigami, and at times can be seen as being decidedly immature by his peers. When he was still alive, he spent most of his time doing his best to avoid actually doing anything, and took great advantage of the fact that his family were more than willing to bend themselves backwards to see to his every desire. This arrogance was quickly knocked out of the boy when he entered the Soul Society and was enrolled in the academy in order to become a shinigami. In its wake, Hiroshi developed a coping mechanism of being what can best be described as the joker. He will do anything to keep spirits up and seems to thrive on the attention his jokes, however bad, receive. Not an overly polite person, Hiroshi will treat those who are obviously superior with a grudging respect, but everyone else will be treated as an equal, even if they are not. History Hiroshi was born to a well-off family who had been trying to give birth to a child for many years fruitlessly, only to one day finally fall pregnant with Hiroshi. As he grew up he had every whim catered to and never wanted for anything, causing him to grow arrogant, even at a young age. His arrogance was further fuelled by the fact that he seemed to see ghosts, something which none of his peers were able to do. Hiroshi saw himself as special; something which was further compounded by his parents who, in their love, praised him at every opportunity. He attended school at the regular age but never really paid much attention and was quite disruptive, up until the accident that caused his death. He was being driven home from school after having been suspended for overly disruptive behaviour, when the car collided with another and both he and the driver were killed. Both were sent quickly by a shinigami to the Soul Society where Hiroshi’s potential led to him being taken to the academy and enrolled. During his initial time at the academy, Hiroshi seemed to mature quickly as he realised that his previously privileged status in life had no bearing in the Soul Society. He was taken aside and informed that if he wished to become the Shinigami that he had the potential to be, he would need to stop being so abrasive and begin accepting the other students as the equals that they were. This revelation struck the youth strongly and his attitude immediately changed into that of the joker, always trying to keep spirits up with his inane jokes. The years rolled by and Hiroshi worked his way through the academy, making friends relatively easily once he dropped the arrogance that had tarnished his pre-Shinigami life. He worked hard and trained tirelessly, pushing himself hard to try and fulfil his potential without forfeiting enough time to spend with his friends. He graduating in the upper half of his class and was assigned to the fifth division, where he began to work as a shinigami. Despite the missions he was sent on, Hiroshi continued to systematically train hard in order to become stronger. However, no matter how hard Hiroshi trained he was still unable to unlock the Shikai state of his Zanpakuto due to the fact that his weapon seemed unwilling to yield its name to the young man. However, several months after Hiroshi’s assignment to the fifth division he was dispatched with one of his former classmates to head back to the human world to deal with some hollows that were plaguing Hiroshi’s old hometown. Before he set off, Hiroshi received a curious message telling him to head to a specific house in the outskirts of the Soul Society. Arriving at the house he had been told to head to, he was shocked to find his mother living there, looking much older and frailer than the young Shinigami remembered. After the shock of the first meeting with his mother for many years, she informed Hiroshi that she had been killed by a hollow, much as he had. She told him how the car crash had in fact been caused by a hollow attacking the car in an attempt to get to Hiroshi. She then dropped the bombshell that the hollow that had killed Hiroshi had also killed his mother, and that the rumours were saying that Hiroshi's target in the human world was this very same hollow. Hiroshi vowed that he would finish this hollow and so set out with his partner to the world of the living. Immediately the duo set about killing off the many hollows in the area, searching for the specific hollow who had been the biggest danger to the area. As they were hunting however, the hollow got the drop on them and managed to kill Hiroshi's partner with Hiroshi only just escaping. Hiroshi counter-attacked the hollow but found that his inability to call his Zanpakuto’s name severely limited his ability to harm the hollow and he took a wound to the left shoulder and almost gave up the fight, but for a voice in his head. ”Summon me, Amayahotaru!” “Glow, Amayahotaru!” His Zanpakuto had spoken and found Hiroshi to be worthy, and with the cry he unlocked the Shikai of his weapon. With his surge in power, the young soul reaper was able to destroy the hollow and save his mother with a single strong attack. His mission was complete and so Hiroshi headed back to the Soul Society, his mission finished if not quite successful. Upon his return, Hiroshi vowed to train every day until he had managed to unlock every hidden facet of his newly obtained Shikai. Years passed as he trained and managed to pick up new skills and the monotony of training and the occasional mission was broken by the actions of Aizen and the escalated problems that were clearly preceding the war to come. Hiroshi’s years of training would finally come in useful as he attempted to gain as much experience and power as he could before the inevitable war kicked off and he is thrust head-first into the fighting. Powers and Abilities Zanpakutō Amayahotaru (Nightrain Firefly): In it's sealed form, it is a relatively non-descript katana, no different from any other except for the red handle and oval guard. *'Shikai': The call out phrase for Amayahotaru's Shikai form is simply "Glow, Amayahotaru". When this occurs, Hiroshi's Zanpakuto will transform from a regular katana into a longer sword, the hilt shortening with an unusual spike forming close to the knuckles which acts as a guard of sorts. The blade itself thickens and changes shape slightly, not quite ending fully where it meets the hilt, with a crimson sigil burning onto the blade near to the hilt Shikai special abilities *'Kasai Bakuhatsu' (Explosion Blast): By focusing his spiritual energy into his Zanpakuto, Hiroshi can call the name of this ability and, while swinging his sword, shoot forth a blast of fire. The fire will flash out from along the length of the blade and for all intents and purposes looks like the blade itself, although obviously made of fire and will spread as it goes further out from the blade. It will go for about fifty feet before dissipating unless it impacts with something large enough to focus its energy on. A reiatsu-based attack with a fire element, this attack could conceivably impact and fail to do any real damage depending on the opponent. :*'Kouro no Tate' (Blast Shield): By focusing is reiatsu into his blade, Hiroshi can stab the Zanpakuto into the ground and release the reiatsu. When released, a pillar of fire will fire upwards in a 5 foot radius around Hiroshi, deflecting any incoming attacks and causing burning damage to anyone who impacts with the pillar. Similarly to Kasai Bakuhatsu, if an opponent is strong enough or particularly resistant to fire based attacks, any damage taken from impacting with the pillar could be insubstantial. :*'Kasou' (Cremation): After using the callout phrase, Amayahotaru will boost Hiroshi’s speed, endurance and strength, however this effect will only last for two minutes. While it is in effect Hiroshi’s reiatsu will be constantly drained and fire will seep up his arm from the hilt of his Zanpakuto. To release the effect, Hiroshi must call “Kasou, release” and if he does not do that before the time limit of the ability is reached, his reiatsu will be almost completely sucked away. Along with this effect, if he fails to release the technique in time then the fire that had spread up his arm will spread even faster, while also increasing in severity. Adds around half again to his speed, strength and endurance when in effect, and when he comes out of the technique his speed, strength and endurance will be around half of what they normally are for around ten seconds. By that same token, if this ability is attempted when Hiroshi has less than 33% of his total reiatsu remaining, the last of his reiatsu will be drained and the move will not work at all so he must be sure before he uses the technique. :*'Tenkamaru' (Ignition Circle): Concentrating reiatsu into his blade, Hiroshi will thrust out the Zanpakuto before him and use the move’s call out phrase. Spinning on the spot, the weapon will leave a trail of fire where the blade has passed until a full circle of fire has been formed. When this has occurred, Hiroshi will slam the hilt of the blade into the ground and the circle of fire will burst outwards, causing moderate fire damage to anything that is hit by it. The blast is not particularly large but is swift, however a character who reacts quick enough would be able to leap above the strike or drop below it and avoid any damage. Likewise, a character who is particularly resistant to fire damage or is much stronger than Hiroshi (2 ranks above) would take little to no damage from the attack. The range of the fire is about thirty feet before it dissipates and it runs five feet above the ground with a width of half a foot. If Hiroshi is struck while attempting to form the initial circle, the move will be disrupted and fail. Mastered Kidō *Hadō number 1, Shō (Thrust) *Hadō number 4, Byakurai (Pale Lightning) *Hadō number 6, Hyōsekkai (Hail Stone) *Hadō number 9, Hishuran (Grasping Flame) *Hadō number 15, Ichiren Byakurai (Pale Lightning Chain) *Hadō number 22, Suimyaku (Water Pulse) *Hadō number 26, Hidenkō (Red Lightning) *Hadō number 29, Hokoshō (Lance Thrust) *Hadō number 31, Shakkahō (Shot of Red Fire) *Bakudō number 1, Sai (Restrain) *Bakudō number 4, Hainawa (Crawling Rope) *Bakudō number 8, Seki (Repulse) *Bakudō number 9, Geki (Strike) *Bakudō number 10, Kōmori Yoriyomi (Bat Out of Hell) *Bakudō number 12, Fushibi (Ambush Flare) *Bakudō number 14, Hibiku (Resound) *Bakudō number 17, Yuragi Sentō (Tremor Spire) *Bakudō number 21, Sekienton (Red Smoke Escape) *Bakudō number 23, Kōseki Hiheki (Crystal Ice Barrier) Skill Masteries *'Zanpakuto': Above Average Hiroshi has mastered his Shikai and proven himself a very able fighter with his blade, but he has yet to contemplate attempting to gain his Bankai. *'Hand-to-Hand': Below Average Hiroshi knows the fundementals of fighting with his body, but knowing how to do it and being able to do it are very different things. Able to hold his own against average fighters to an extent, anyone with any real skill in hand to hand combat will find Hiroshi lacking. *'Kidou': Average Hiroshi knows 19 kidou and has a good grasp of their use. He can use them well and, although he still has to use the chant to use a full power kidou, his techniques do not lack in power at all. *'Shunpo': Average Hiroshi has a very fundemental grasp on shunpo, not exactly good with it but good enough to be able to use it semi-effectively on the battlefield. *'Reiatsu': Average Hiroshi's extensive kidou training has meant that controlling his own reiatsu is becoming easier and easier. While he is by no means skilled at reiatsu control, he has a good grasp of the fundementals and his reserves of reiatsu are not lacking. Quotes *(To random thug) “Step aside, or end up in a pool of blood. Your choice.” *(To his Taicho, Takumi) “I have always pushed myself to be the best that I can be. I’ve also always wanted to one day move up within the squad and help lead it. I imagined that it can’t be easy for someone coming back into a Division and having to lead it, so I wanted to help out if I could. I’ve seen the Gobantai fall too far, and I want to help bring it back up again. I want to see it soar, with members that are as skilled as they are plentiful, and I want to be a part of what revitalises it. Sorry if I’m not making too much sense, it’s just that I care a lot about this squad, I have been a part of it since I became a Shinigami and while being a part of it, I have grown into a better person and a better Soul Reaper. In short, I want to help because I can, and I think I can be of help to you. And I'm gay.” Category:Characters Category:Shinigami